Even after brainstorming for most of the project, I still
had no idea what my focus was going to be before I began writing a rough draft
of a script. As I watched my video blog
again for inspiration, I realized that the person who was patiently holding the
camera and giving me advice and words of encouragement was the entire reason I
completed this project.
As I told the audience during my TED Talk, my step-mother
and her side of the family are all Puerto-Rican, and we go to Puerto Rico on a
regular basis to visit her family and to vacation. I had always been afraid to try the
traditional food, or basically anything that didn’t look like pasta or chicken.
When I began this project, however, I knew that I wanted to
change that. Instead of shying away from
the food that I had previously labeled as, “adventurous” or “exotic”, I learned
to make this food, and I ended up completely loving it.
I now plan to cook for my family regularly, and although I’ll
never be able to cook Southwestern food perfectly, I am going to keep working on
my skills and techniques.
By learning to cook using Southwestern flavors, I’ve not
only bonded with my step-mother and step-siblings, but I learned why they love
the food in Puerto Rico. The food in downtown
San Juan alone is delicious, and I’ve gained appreciation for the incredible
talent of chefs.
I would like to continue cooking Southwestern food, but even
if I don’t do that all the time, I will be able to use the skills and
techniques that I’ve learned over the last several months for the rest of my
life.
I commented on Joyce, Zager, and Meltzer.
